Our Indian home was built 5 years ago, mixing Kerala style and French features such as carved shutters. It includes a large living-room, a fully equipped kitchen, a dining area set on a covered terrace, 3 double bedrooms each with shower, toilet and washbasin attached. It is set in a pleasant garden with trees and flowers. the swimming pool is 10m by 5. Two of the bedrooms are independent from the main house, built alongside the pool. because living in India is quite different from living in Europe or America, we only offer hospitality exchange so as to be on the spot and look after practicalities. We can offer breakfast and dinner or guests can share the facilities and cook for themselves. We offer our hospitality from end of November to March, the drier and cooler period in Kerala.

The house is in a rural village rapidly developing into a suburban area. You can still see cows and goats grazing in the paddies between the built-up areas. The main street offers lots of small shops selling everything. There is a post office, a hospital, several schools. The village has a mainly Christian population, there are several churches around, but also a Hindu temple and a mosque in the next town. It is very easy to travel around, using local rickshaws or taxis as well as buses and trains. Fort Kochi, the historical part of Cochin is 40 km away with evidence of its Portuguese, Dutch and English past. The coast (and beach) is 25 km away. The Backwaters are worth exploring as well as the hills.

AboutI am Jackie, 72, a retired language teacher. I lived in the UK for 20 years , returned to France with my husband and we set up home in the Dordogne. I was widowed 12 years ago and later remarried with Deleep, 41, of Indian origin. We share our present life between France and Kerala (South India) Deleep works in tourism in both countries. We love travelling and meeting people. My interests are reading, gardening, cooking, swimming, looking after pets. Deleep loves yoga and cricket, talking politics, history and all things Indian. At the moment we are specifically looking for an exchange with Canada, Montreal in september 2018 as my grand daughter and her boyfriend have recently settled there and we wish to visit them. We are ready to do a straight exchange or receive you in 2019 at mutually suitable dates. Or you may be interested in coming to Kerala in the winter. Our home in France is a stone house from the 1890s, set in a large garden with a swimming pool (10m by 5). There is a terrace in the front, getting the morning sun, with a pergola and a vine, a terrace in the back. The area has lots to offer in the way of visits, from natural and prehistoric caves, medieval castles and picturesque villages. There are small towns with markets and restaurants serving attractive food. You can rent bikes, go horse riding, play tennis, go to the cinema in Le Buisson , enjoy concerts. There is a station and you can use the train to Bergerac, Perigueux or Bordeaux for day visits. We are not in the village, but there are neighbours within 150 yards. Our Indian home is a villa built 5 years ago, in a village 12 km from Cochin airport. Although originally a rural area it is fast developing into a pleasant suburban district. Kerala is well-known for the Backwaters, which can be explored on a variety of boats, its spice gardens and tea plantations in the hills, ayurvedic treatments and massages, and numerous festivals in Christian churches and Hindu temples. The coast is 25 km away and Fort Kochi the old quarter of Cochin is 35 km away.